Gasgoo Munich – On April 12th, Zhang Yun, Global CEO and China Chairman of Ries Strategy Consulting, spoke at the Smart Electric Vehicle Development High-Level Forum (2026). His lecture centered on “New opportunities and methods for Chinese enterprises in the super-technology era” and provided strategic insights into the future trajectory of the Chinese automobile industry, derived from the company’s 10 years of deep involvement in this field.
Zhang Yun outlined three core opportunities for Chinese companies in the coming decades: the evolution of consumer concepts, the dawn of the super-technology era, and the rise of global branding. The automotive sector is unique in capturing all three at once, a “once in 200 years” development opportunity for Chinese automakers. He noted that while the transformation of the past decade was driven by the energy transition that brought pure electric, hybrid and long-range vehicles to the forefront, the next decade will see the battleground shift to supertech and global brands. Supertechnology, in particular, is reshaping the map of global automotive competition.
Zhang Yun, Global CEO and China Chairman of Ries Strategy Consulting; Source: Che Baihui Research Institute
Zhang Yun emphasized that in the AI era, cars will evolve into a type of embodied intelligence, essentially a “robot in the form of a car.” But no matter how much technology changes, two basic human needs remain the same: ride comfort and driving freedom. The core value of super technology is to create a super comfortable mobile space. Vehicles of the future could serve as private sanctuaries for work and leisure. Autonomous driving, on the other hand, takes humans back to a state reminiscent of the days of horse-drawn carriages, freeing us from the need to drive and allowing us to focus fully on the experience.
Supertechnology will also facilitate the emergence of a new category centered around the “superdriving” experience. Let’s take flying cars as an example. Flying cars are not designed to fly the entire journey, but they are the ultimate off-road vehicle, taking advantage of humanity’s instinct to explore and seek freedom and fly when needed. Zhang Yun acknowledges that ride comfort is the more mainstream demand, but argues that both paths will define the future trajectory of the industry.
But super technology alone is not enough. Companies need to use category innovation to build cognitive barriers, avoid falling into a cycle of technological superiority, and convert technological advantage into category advantage. Reese, for example, helped establish XPENG as an “AI car” with intelligent driving standard across the lineup. This is in sharp contrast to Tesla’s paid option model. Zhang Yun also pointed out that Tesla and Huawei have already established strong mindshare advantages by positioning themselves as super-technology companies.
In conclusion, Zhang Yun asserted that tomorrow’s disruptors in the automobile industry will be those who are able to seize the supertechnology trend, be the first to define a “super category” centered on super riding or super driving, and successfully establish themselves as supertechnology brands.
